rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Feb 21, 2018 18:08:15 GMT -5
Hello All, Thanks for all the advice and suggestions. I think what I will do is use strictly one type of stone - I have a bag of rainbow obsidian and try the various polishing times and speeds. personally I would have thought that the times in the instruction maula would be a bit more accurate, but I will try longer times with one stone type or one stone hardness only. We shall See!!!! If you continue to have problems, I strongly recommend you use different polish. I had exactly the same issue with my nat geo tumbler.
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Feb 20, 2018 19:32:43 GMT -5
Granite is a harder stone to polish. I do not think that the tumbler is the issue- I have the same one and I get good results. I sugest sticking with jaspers, crystals, tiger eyes, and agates to start with. They take a shine real easy, and once you have gotten it down with them, then you can move onto other types of rough like granite, soladite, and anything that is softer.
One thing that I did find is that the polish that comes with the nat geo is trash. Get aluminum oxide.
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Feb 19, 2018 21:15:35 GMT -5
I am jealous of your score. It is amazing. I can't stop staring at the pretty rocks. So pretty.....
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Feb 19, 2018 21:12:41 GMT -5
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Feb 17, 2018 11:27:59 GMT -5
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Feb 14, 2018 21:18:28 GMT -5
1506.3 1499.9 1690.3 1340.2 1799.9 1845.4
But Honestly? I'm pretty sure the answer is a bajillion.
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Feb 7, 2018 20:16:53 GMT -5
I've been tumbling for about a year now. I use a lot of cushioning in the last two stages, and rinse everything off like crazy in-between.
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Feb 7, 2018 18:05:33 GMT -5
And the rough that I purchased from the gem shop!
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Feb 7, 2018 18:04:30 GMT -5
Amethyst Pet Wood All of my tinny shards. For context, this jar is only two inches tall
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Feb 7, 2018 18:03:45 GMT -5
I've been lax in posting, so here are some from my last two batches My big ones. All 1.5-2 inches long Quartz and Agate Granite (I think) from the yard. Some Pet. Wood, Picture Jasper, Tiger Eye, and other stuff. Agates ? Tiger eye, including one blue one Red Jasper. The Pics just don't capture the shine. So much Rose quartz. I got a little sick of it.
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Feb 7, 2018 18:00:27 GMT -5
Thanks!
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Feb 6, 2018 21:10:09 GMT -5
Wow! That looks so pretty. If I amy ask, do you use a rotary tumbler? What is your recipe? I have some obsidian and I have been holding off on processing it because I know that it is a harder one to perfect
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Feb 5, 2018 19:30:53 GMT -5
Hey I was wondering If anyone has ever been to the Gilsum Rock swap & Mineral show in NH or the James Campbell Memorial Annual Gem, Mineral and Fossil show in NY? Thanks!
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Jan 28, 2018 15:49:55 GMT -5
Where did you get the Turritella agate from? I have been itching to tumble some of that?
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Jan 14, 2018 10:56:21 GMT -5
I just placed an order from the gem shop, inc. I am getting a pound of Wildhorse Picture Jasper, a pound of Eden valley petrified wood, and a pound of Noreena Jasper. Only problem is they are in one big chunk and I tumble, so I have to break them down. What's the best way to go about this?
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Nov 26, 2017 21:32:49 GMT -5
That's almost exaclty the color of my slurry!
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Nov 26, 2017 17:34:56 GMT -5
Does the color of the slurry indicate anything? Today when I changed my barred the slurry was red-ish. I've never had that before. I was cleaning out the barrel from stage three to go into stage four. It's a mix of red jasper, rose quartz, quartz, dalmatian jasper, and some granite.
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Oct 27, 2017 6:07:56 GMT -5
Thanks!
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Oct 12, 2017 17:59:36 GMT -5
I've run some fish tank gravel, it came out pretty good.
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rockcat11
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 176
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Post by rockcat11 on Oct 8, 2017 14:41:33 GMT -5
I'm not ready to buy now, I just got a new job so it will be a bit. That, and my tumbler is quite happy with the rough that I won at the moment I like to have a varieety. Right now I am in love with petrified wood and agate, and I am liking the biger sized rocks. I don't have access to a saw though. Is the rockshed a good source? or the gem shop?has anyone dealt with kingsley north?
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